Some Mothers 'Ave Phantoms
by BeatlePhan
Summary: I think the title says it all... short and sweet.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (fortunately for my fragile collectibles!) Please excuse grammatical errors, they weren't on the original, I'm a computer idiot, so it will probably take me a while to figure all this out. Enjoy.  
  
Some Mothers 'Ave Phantoms  
  
The young lady was tired-it had been a long hard day, and all she wanted to do was rest her aching feet. She sat down, brushing out her hair before she changed clothes for the trip home. She was checking her reflection in the full size mirror when she heard a loud thump, the mirror lurched a bit, and a muffled voice said, "Ouch!"  
  
"Who's there?" she cried, moving away from her reflection. After a bit of grunting and banging, the mirror clankily slid open, and a figure dressed in black stepped towards her. She was a bit frightened-the man wore a mask over one side of his face and a dark hat hid the rest in shadow. "Who. who are you? What do you want?"  
  
"Oh, I'm. well, I'm the Phantom!" the mysterious figure exclaimed. "I haunt this building, you know. I want to take you to my home and have you spend the rest of your life with me!" At her aghast look, he amended, "Well, could you possibly, that is, ahhh. would you like a cup of tea? I'd love to show you where I live." he trailed off hopefully.  
  
The girl knew she shouldn't go with this stranger, but something about him appealed to her, so she nodded 'yes'. The man took her hand and led her through the mirror, pausing to shove it closed behind them. "It really should glide," he explained. "But I haven't quite figured out how to make it do that yet." He smiled and led her down some stairs and through the dark cellars of the building. "Here we are," he said happily when they stopped at a body of water. "My home's just over this lake."  
  
"Oh, dear, you want me to go across the lake? In that?" she pointed to a small, somewhat leaky looking boat floating serenely at the water's edge.  
  
"It will be all right, you'll see," he comforted her.  
  
She carefully climbed in and the man followed, grasping a pole which he used to push them off shore. As he maneuvered through the small waves, he sang a little ditty, just a bit off tune, and she noticed that he didn't get all the words right, but he did have a nice voice. "It's so dark," she ventured a bit later. "Do you have another lantern?" The one on the front of the craft was weakly trying to illuminate the way.  
  
"Oh, I can do better than that!" the man said proudly, and made a grand gesture. Suddenly, candelabrum began rising out of the water around them.  
  
"How beautiful!" she cried. Then, "Oh my, LOOK OUT!" The boat was heading straight for one of the metal objects. It hit it with a loud clank, and the man stumbled and fell on top of her, losing the pole in the process.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean." he sputtered as he tried to untangle himself from her, getting caught in the hem of her dress in the process. He pulled free, ripping the garment.  
  
"My dress!" she cried, but the man was crawling to the back of the boat, reaching out for the pole. He nearly went into the water head first, but caught himself in time and managed to snag the pole before it floated out of reach.  
  
"Got it!" he said triumphantly. He steered the vessel carefully around the remaining candelabrum and soon reached the shore. The man came around her and leaped toward land, but his long black cape caught on the lantern and he instead landed on his hands and knees in the water. "Oh, oh, oh," he tried to free the cape, nearly capsizing the boat in the process, leaving the young girl breathless from gripping the sides of the vehicle in an attempt to stay dry.  
  
"Here we are," the man held out his hand to the girl, then, realizing it was dripping wet, he hastily dried it on his shirt. "This is where I live."  
  
"It's. very interesting," she said, carefully exiting the boat and noting the organ in one corner and a broken mirror in the other. She had a good idea of what had caused the mirror to break!  
  
"Would you like to hear me play?" the man bounded to the organ and sat on the bench. He stretched his fingers, then raised his hands dramatically over the keys, and suddenly began a tune-"Chopsticks". He managed to finish with no mistakes. "How about that? First time I've not missed any notes! I'm learning "Mary Had a Little Lamb" next," he continued. "It's got chords and everything!"  
  
"How exciting." the girl murmured, walking over to a grand-looking throne.  
  
"Do you like it?" he asked. "I built it myself. I love working with wood; someday I hope to attend a class." He sat in the chair, continuing his explanation. "Say, for example, that an angry mob were after me."  
  
"Why on earth would an angry mob be after you?" she questioned.  
  
"Oh, just suppose! Anyway, the mob is fast approaching and here I am, nowhere to hide. Whatever will I do?"  
  
"I can't imagine!"  
  
"Well, just watch," he said proudly. "I've built a secret exit under this chair; all I have to do is press this hidden lever here, and." he pushed at a switch, but nothing happened. "It appears to be stuck. let me try again." Still nothing happened. Frustrated, he banged his hand, and suddenly the seat gave way beneath him and he fell backwards, legs waving in the air. "Oh, ahhh, help me, please!" he cried.  
  
The girl rushed over and grabbed on of the flailing legs and pulled. The man reached his arms up and grabbed the edges of the throne, painfully pulling himself upright. The girl gasped. "Your face!"  
  
He reached up and found, to his dismay, that his mask had fallen off. "Don't look at me!" he cried, turning away from her. He stumbled toward the mirror, tripping over the edge and falling, taking the nearby mannequin with him. He rolled around with the stiff figure for a few moments, then quickly rose, the mannequin's veil in his hand. He pulled it over his head, trying to hide his face behind the lacy cloth.  
  
"Here's your mask," the girl said quietly. She'd found it on the floor beside the throne. "But why do you wear it? There's nothing wrong with your face!"  
  
"Oh, yes there is, really!" he countered, "I'm horribly scarred and disfigured, you'd be terrified if you saw what I looked like."  
  
"You most certainly are not!" She raised the veil as he tried to twist away. "See? You're just a normal looking man." The man looked dejected and walked away from her. "I don't understand." she said quietly.  
  
"Oh, I just wanted you to think I was that way, all mysterious and a bit frightening. Girls seem to like men like that, and, well, I've never had much luck with girls." He looked away shyly.  
  
"I like you better without the mask," she proclaimed. He looked up, smiling hopefully. "And I love it when you smile-you have such a nice smile!" He blushed at that, and she continued, "My name is Betty."  
  
"Hello, Betty. I'm Frank. I hope I didn't frighten you too badly."  
  
"Oh, no, this has been enjoyable. I've never had such an adventure!" She looked around. "You REALLY don't live here, do you?"  
  
"Oh, no, I just come here when I have spare time-I like to putter around and play on that organ." He looked at her, down at his boots, then back at her again. "Betty? Could I, that is, would you mind. could I walk you home?"  
  
"I only live a few blocks from here," Betty replied. At his downcast look, she quickly added, "But I'd love it if you would accompany me there." His face lit up and he picked up his hat from the throne, placing it on his head. He took the mask from her and put it in a pocket inside the cape. He led her to an exit and they walked in silence until they reached Betty's house. "Well, here we are," she announced. "My mum's probably waiting up for me; I'm later than usual."  
  
"Oh, do you think I could meet her some time?" Frank asked.  
  
"Of course, but perhaps not tonight. she's not expecting guests, and you might frighten her, the way you're dressed."  
  
"I suppose you're right," he admitted. "Besides, I've wet my trousers. I wouldn't want her to think I was strange!" They looked at each other for an awkward moment, then he went on, "Could I come see you again? I mean, not in the cellars and all that?"  
  
"That would be wonderful."  
  
He nodded, then pointed toward an alley way. "I'll just go through there," he said. "I wouldn't want to scare anyone!" He swirled the cape around, nearly falling over a hedge. She waved good -bye as he moved through the darkness. Then, there was a horrible clatter and the lid from a dust bin came rolling by. "I'm all right!" his voiced floated out of the alley.  
  
"Oh, Frank," she sighed, a smile on her face. She went into the house, closing the door quietly behind her. 


End file.
